Emmanuel Lubezki facts for kids

Emmanuel Lubezki Morgenstern (born November 30, 1964) is a very famous Mexican cinematographer. A cinematographer is the person in charge of how a movie looks. They decide on the lighting, camera angles, and how the scenes are filmed. Lubezki is often called "Chivo," which means "goat" in Spanish.

He is known for using natural light in his films. He also likes to use very long, uninterrupted shots. This means the camera keeps rolling for a long time without cutting. He often uses special equipment like a Steadicam or a 3-axis gimbal to make these shots smooth.

Lubezki has worked a lot with famous directors like Terrence Malick, Alfonso Cuarón, and Alejandro González Iñárritu. He has won many awards for his work. He made history by winning the Academy Award for Best Cinematography three times in a row! He won for Gravity (2013), Birdman (2014), and The Revenant (2015).

He is a member of important groups for cinematographers in both Mexico and the United States. In 2016, he also won the Royal Photographic Society Lumière Award for his amazing work in cinematography.

Emmanuel Lubezki's Early Life and Education

Emmanuel Lubezki was born in Mexico City, Mexico. His family is Jewish. His father, Muni Lubezki, was an actor and producer. His grandparents were also Jewish, from Lithuania and Russia.

Lubezki studied film at a university in Mexico called Centro Universitario de Estudios Cinematográficos (CUEC). This is where he first met the director Alfonso Cuarón. They became good friends and later worked on many movies together.

Emmanuel Lubezki's Film Career

Lubezki started his career in the late 1980s. He worked on Mexican movies and TV shows. His first international movie was Twenty Bucks in 1993. This independent film followed the journey of a single twenty-dollar bill.

He has worked with many well-known directors. These include Mike Nichols, Tim Burton, Michael Mann, the Coen brothers, and David O. Russell.

Working with Alfonso Cuarón

Lubezki often works with his friend, the Mexican filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón. They have been friends since they were teenagers. They went to the same film school. They have made six movies together. These include Sólo Con Tu Pareja, A Little Princess, Great Expectations, Y Tu Mamá También, Children of Men, and Gravity.

Their movie Children of Men (2006) was highly praised. They used new technologies and special filming methods for this movie. For example, a scene with a roadside ambush was filmed in one long shot. They used a special camera system for this. The car was changed so actors could move out of the camera's way. The windshield could also tilt to allow the camera to move in and out. Four crew members, including Lubezki, rode on the roof to film it. Children of Men also has a seven-and-a-half-minute battle scene that looks like one continuous shot.

Oscar-Winning Work

Lubezki won his first Academy Award for Best Cinematography for Gravity. This movie is a thriller set in outer space. People loved how the film combined different shots with digital backgrounds of space. This made it look like the scenes were filmed in one continuous take.

The next year, Lubezki won his second Oscar for Birdman. This movie was directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu. Birdman used a similar technique to Gravity. The whole movie was filmed to look like one continuous shot, which was very unusual.

In 2015, Lubezki won the Oscar again for Iñárritu's movie The Revenant. This was a huge achievement because it was his third win in a row. He was the first cinematographer to do this. The Revenant was filmed entirely outdoors in cold weather. They used very little computer-generated imagery (CGI). They also used only natural light. This made filming very difficult and took a lot of time. However, The Revenant earned a lot of money and was praised for its realistic look.

Emmanuel Lubezki's Filmography

Feature Films

Television Work

Awards and Nominations

Emmanuel Lubezki has been recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (the group that gives out the Oscars) for these films:

• 68th Academy Awards: Nominated for Best Cinematography for A Little Princess (1995)
• 72nd Academy Awards: Nominated for Best Cinematography for Sleepy Hollow (1999)
• 78th Academy Awards: Nominated for Best Cinematography for The New World (2005)
• 79th Academy Awards: Nominated for Best Cinematography for Children of Men (2006)
• 84th Academy Awards: Nominated for Best Cinematography for The Tree of Life (2011)
• 86th Academy Awards: Won Best Cinematography for Gravity (2013)
• 87th Academy Awards: Won Best Cinematography for Birdman (2014)
• 88th Academy Awards: Won Best Cinematography for The Revenant (2015)

See also

In Spanish: Emmanuel Lubezki para niños

• Cinema of Mexico